Lead D-Day Plane From WWII Discovered In Scrapyard, Veterans Say It Will Fly Again

A lead D-Day plane was found at a scrapyard, but it’s been saved and may fly again. The Douglas C47 was the leader of 800 aircraft and given the name “That’s All Brother” as a message to Adolf Hitler.

This isn’t the only part of U.S. military history that was discovered recently. A 500-pound WWII bomb was found in London, undetonated and among many unused explosive devices mostly likely sitting around in England, as previously reported by the Inquisitr. The Nazis apparently never had the chance to use it, partly due to the plane recently discovered having served its intended purpose.

“That’s All Brother” was the plane that led 800 other aircraft in the invasion of Normandy, given that name as a way of telling the Nazi leader that the reign of his Third Reich was over. It dropped the first of 13,000 paratroopers to ensure that message was clear and true.

The lead D-Day plane was set to be cannibalized, but the Commemorative Air Force has said that the iconic aircraft will fly again. The Dallas-based nonprofit saw its potential for education on U.S. history and has so far raised $350k to restore it using a Kickstarter campaign.

CAF president Stephan C. Brown made a statement about how important the plane was after he saw it.

“This is a modern miracle. The aircraft was within weeks of being torn apart when its serial number 42-92847 was traced and it turned out to be the actual lead aircraft for the D-Day invasion.

We still have a ways to go. It’s probably going to take a million dollars – a million and a half dollars – to totally get this airplane rebuilt from the ground up so it can last for 75 or 100 more years.”

The Commemorative Air Force wants to convert the lead D-Day plane into a “flying classroom” eventually. It’s doubtful that the plane will return to Normandy for a reenactment, though.

[Image via Warbirds News]